Find True Significance of Getting Lost

Dear Cynthia: For years I have been dreaming that I am leaving one location (usually a beach) to go somewhere else; each time I have the dream I get lost. I have looked in many dream books and cannot find what getting lost means. Sometimes I am in Mexico when this happens. If I find my way back (which is rare) then whomever I was supposed to meet there is gone.

--GAIL ABBOTT

Los Angeles

Dear Gail: The feeling of being lost in a dream is one shared by many. Sometimes the dream takes the form of not being able to find your car, find the train you need, find the road you want and the like.

Very often this dream theme is experienced by a person who feels that his or her life is off-track. This dreamer may feel like a lost soul and may be aware that there is something missing in her life, that career and relationships are not completely satisfying. She may describe the feeling as one of emptiness as if there is a hole inside herself that she can’t fill. It is possible that the dream comes when you feel separated from your life’s purpose or the meaningful part of life.

You write that often you begin at a beach. In the language of dreams, a beach can represent the place where that which is unknown to us, the unconscious--represented by the water--and that which is known to us, consciousness--represented by the sand--come together. In other words, the dream may be an important message from the unconscious, helping you to become aware of something helpful.

Try a little journal writing, finishing this sentence: “When I feel lost it makes me. . . .” See what you come up with, and then take steps to restore satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment to your life.

Cynthia Richmond is the author of “Dream Power, How to Use Your Night Dreams to Change Your Life” (Simon & Schuster, 2000). Fax your dreams to Cynthia Richmond at (818) 783-3267 or e-mail them to in.your.dreams@worldnet.att.net. Please include your hometown and a daytime phone number. “In Your Dreams” appears every Tuesday and should be read for entertainment purposes only.